High School

Area wrestlers aim for titles at State Open BY GERRY DESIMAS JR. Republican-American

Last Saturday, Cheshire’s Kyle Copes was the man on top of the podium — the second man to bring home a wrestling state championship in school history after his 11-10 victory over Shelton’s Mike Frizinia in the 171-pound final at the CIAC Class LL tournament.

When the State Open begins this afternoon at the New Haven Athletic Center, he’ll just be one of 16 wrestlers chasing another championship. The top four wrestlers in each weight class from last weekend’s Class LL, L, M and S tournaments qualified for the Open.

Copes was one of seven area wrestlers to win a state title Saturday, beating Frizinia for the fourth time this season. Copes won a week earlier in the Southern Connecticut Conference final, 9-4.

Copes had four takedowns in the Class LL match to build an early lead. He intentionally let Frizinia escape to give him more opportunities for two-point takedowns. Copes led 9-4 entering the third period when Frizinia got a takedown to cut the lead to three, 9-6.

Copes escaped, but Frizinia got another takedown to cut the lead to 10-9. But Frizinia couldn’t turn Copes for any near-fall points. With time escaping late in the third period, he let Copes escape for an 11-9 lead. Copes was penalized for stalling late in the match, but held on for the victory.

“He was aggressive for a majority of the day,” Cheshire coach Don Miller said. “He doesn’t sit back and wait. He sets the tone and goes after kids. He gets his points early, so he isn’t chasing.”

Copes’ junior teammate, Jed Cervero (125), continues to run into stiff competition in championship matches in the SCC and Class LL tournaments. In the finals of the SCC, Cervero dropped a 3-2 decision to Hand’s Ed Carroll, the Class L champion.

In the Class LL final, Cervero dropped a tough 4-2 decision to Danbury’s John Damici, whose third-period reversal was the difference.

Cervero got the first takedown of the match, but Damici tied it on a reversal. It was Damici’s second straight Class LL title.

As a sophomore at 112 pounds, Cervero was second in the Class LL tournament and State Open.

“Jed wrestled well,” Miller said. “He was dominant until the final match.”

Cervero had two pins and a 5-0 victoryover South Windsor’s Brandon Lopez in the semifinals.

Pomperaug’s Brendan Quinn (40-1) won his first state championship with a 5-3 victory in overtime over top-seeded Nick Cyr of Bristol Central at 130 pounds in the Class L tournament.

Quinn won the South-West Conference title at 130 pounds with a 13-9 win over New Milford’s Andrew Golden. Quinn followed that with four straight wins, including two pins, in the Class L tournament.

Quinn had to erase a 3-0 deficit after Cyr took the lead with a first-period takedown and a second-period escape. But a reversal helped Quinn cut the lead to 3-2. With 15 seconds left in the third period, Quinn escaped to send the match in overtime.

Near the end of the one-minute OT, Quinn secured the takedown to hand Cyr his first loss of the season and earn Quinn his first state title.

“Brendan is peaking at the right time,” O’Keefe said. “He is wrestling very aggressively.”

Around the mat: Torrington’s Dean Tsopanides (285) is the first Raider to qualify for the State Open, with a third-place finish in the Class L tournament. Tsopanides (19-5) had four victories, all by one point. He had 4-3 decisions in back-to-back matches over New Milford’s John Burns and Bristol Central’s D.J. Sanderson in the consolation round to finish third. Tsopanides, a one-man team, trains with Wolcott Tech ... Seymour senior Carlos Vidal (32-8, 112) earned a spot in the final in his second year of wrestling. Coach Joe Perrucci said him in the hallway one day and encouraged him to try the sport. He won his first match after about three weeks of practice. “Once he got that first taste, that was it. He never looked back,” Perrucci said. “He has a big heart and never stops. He is a tough, tough kid.” Vidal had three pins in the Class S tournament before losing to Killingly’s Thomas Lombardi, 8-3, in the final at 112.

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